Box lock



June 19758 M. s. WILLIAMS 2, 7,

BOX LOCK Filed July 7, 1954 'IIIIIII/IIIIII/I/III/l.

zzvmyron. I751? 70N .5: 14 114 mMs.

United States Patent .0 F

BOX LOCK Merton S. Williams, Terryville, Conm, assignor to The Eagle Lock Company, Terryville, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application July 7, 1954, Serial No. 441,731

4 Claims. (Cl. z92-2s1) This invention relates to a box lock and more particularly to a lock which is primarily intended for use on jewelry boxes and the like for locking thecover thereof in closed position.

It is an object of this invention to provide such a lock which is highly eflicient in its operation, durable, and economical to manufacture.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a lock having a novel-construction which greatly facilitates its assembly and thereby materially reduces its cost.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more clearly understood from the following description and from the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the lock embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of said lock.

Fig. 4 is a front view showing parts thereof broken away and partly in section.

Fig. 5 is a sectionalside view of said lock in line-5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a front view, partly broken away, and showing the hasp in unlatched position.

Fig. 7 is a plan view on line 7-7 of Fig. 4.

2 viding latching means for retaining the hasp in closed position.

The locking mechanism of my improved lock includes a sliding bolt 26 which is actuated by means of a suitable key that is insertable through a keyhole 27 in the face of the lower case. A spring 28 is provided for retaining the said bolt in locked and unlocked positions. In the construction shown, a plate 29 is employed to retain the said locking bolt 26 and spring 28 in operative position on said case.

If desired, a tongue may be extended downwardly from the upper case 5 to project into an opening in the top of the lower case so as to align the upper and lower cases.

The operation of my improved lock is as follows:

The hasp 9 is in its normal position when in the position illustrated in Fig. 9 of the drawings and it is retained in said position by means of the resilient leg 15 of the spring which forces the extension 13 of the hasp downwardly against the inner surface of the bottom wall of the said upper case, as clearly shown in said Fig. 9. When the cover 6 of the box is closed and it is desired to secure the said cover in closed position, the hasp is pushed inwardly towards the lower case until the tongue thereon engages the extension 21, and then slightly to the right so that the leading edge of the tongue 24 will pass through Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view on line 8-8 of Fig. 1. I

Fig. 9 is a sectional side view.

As illustrated in the drawings, my improved box lock includes an upper case 5 which is attached to the upper cover of a box, indicated at 6, and a lower case 7 which is attached to the lower portion of the said box, indicated at 8.

A hasp 9 is mounted in the said upper case 5 by means of a shank 10 which projects from said hasp through an opening 11 in the bottom wall 12 of the said upper case and has an angular portion 13 that extends from said shank into the upper case and provides a connection between the hasp and the said case at the inner edge of the opening 11, as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing, which allows the hasp to pivot in two directions, that is, perpendicular to the adjacent face of the lower case and also parallel thereto.

The said portion 13 is bent upwardly at 14 to provide a seat for the movable leg 15 of a spring member 16 that has a stationary portion 17 which is anchored in said upper case by means of ears 18 that are bent inwardly from the edge of the upper case and abut the said portion of the said spring.

The lower case 7 has an opening 19 therein from the side 20 of which projects an extension 21 having an angularly disposed end portion 21a. The opposite side 22 of said opening is disposed at an angle to the side 20 and substantially parallel to the said end portion 21a providing an angular slot 23 therebetween.

The hasp 9 has a tongue 24 projecting inwardly therefrom having an elongated opening 25 therein adapted to receive the extension 21; said extension and tongue prothe slot 23 between the end of the extension 21 and the side 22 of the opening 19 to bring the opening 25 in the tongue into alignment with said extension. It will be seen that as the hasp is moved slightly to the right, it will pivot upon the edge of the opening 11 about the intersection of the shank 10 and the angled portion 13 and the opposite side of the portion 13 will swing upwardly and flex the leg 15 of the spring. When the opening 25 in the tongue is aligned with the extension 21, the spring 16 will urge the hasp about its pivot and into vertical position wherein the extension 21 will be disposed in said opening 25 and will retain the hasp in closed position. The hasp may then be locked in its closed position by bringing the bolt 26 into the position illustrated in Fig. 3, by means of a suitable key, wherein said bolt will be disposed adjacent to the side of the tongue 24 to prevent lateral movement of the hasp.

When it is desired to open the box, it is only necessary to press the finger against the left side of the hasp and push it towards the right to the position illustrated in Fig. 6. When the tongue 24 clears the extension 21, it will be understood that the spring 16 will urge the hasp outwardly about its pivot and into its normal position as illustrated in Fig. 9.

It will be understood from the above description and from the accompanying drawings, that the particular formation of the shank 1th and the angular portion 13 of the hasp, together with the use of the spring 16, provides a hasp which is yieldingly biased in two directions, namely, outwardly on the pivotal point along the bend between the portion 13 and the shank 1%, and to the left, as shown in Fig. 6, on a pivotal point at the edge of the said bend. Therefore, the said hasp will be urged by said spring towards both its open or unlocked positions shown in Fig. 9 and toward the right and into engagement with the extension 21, as shown in Fig. 4, by means of the said spring having the leg 15 freely movable within the upper case. The above described construction provides an extremely inexpensive lock for jewel cases and the like since it eliminates the necessity of providing a spring actuated latch bolt and the operating button therefor as in conventional latches of this type heretofore produced.

I claim:

1. A lock including an upper case, a lower case having an opening in a face thereof with a vertical side and an opposite side angularly disposed relatively to the Patented June 3, 8.

vertical side, an extension projecting inwardly into said opening from the vertical side thereof and having a free edge portion spaced from the angularly disposed side providing a slot therebetween, a hasp pivotally secured to the upper case and depending therefrom over said face of the lower case, a tongue extending from said hasp towards the said lower case and having an opening therein adapted to receive said extension; said tongue being normally disposed in alignment with the said opening in the lower case adjacent the vertical side thereof; the said hasp being pivotally movable in the upper case in directions substantially perpendicular and parallel to the said face of the lower case to thereby permit movement of the tongue into and out of the said slot and into and out of engagement with the said extension, and a spring anchored in the said upper case and having a free leg in engagement with the said hasp and urging said hasp in said two directions.

2. A lock as set forth in claim 1 wherein the hasp is provided with a shank extending through an opening in the bottom wall of the upper case and an angular portion extending from the top of the said shank and into engagement with the said free leg of the spring. i

3. A lock of the character described including an upper case, a lower case having an opening therein, an extension at one side of said opening, a hasp carried by said upper case and having a tongue receivable in said opening, said tongue having an opening therein adapted to receive said extension, means mounting said hasp for pivotal movement relatively to said upper case in a first direction toward and away from the lower case to carry said tongue into and out of said opening in the lower case, and means mounting said hasp for pivotal movement relatively to said upper case in a second direction transversely to said first direction whereby said tongue is movable into and out of engagement with said extension.

4. A box lock including an upper case having a lower wall with an opening therein, a lower case having an opening in its front wall and an extension projecting into said opening from one side thereof, a hasp depending from said upper case and overlying the front wall of the lower case, a tongue projecting from said hasp toward the lower case and receivable in said opening, said tongue having an opening therein adapted to receive said extension whereby the hasp is retained in locking position, a shank on said hasp extending through said opening in the lower wall of the upper case, said shank having a rearwardly extending angularly disposed end portion commencing at the rear inner edge of the opening in said lower wall and thereby providing a pivot along said edge about which the hasp can be swung in a first direction toward and away from said lower case, whereby the tongue thereon is movable into and out of the opening in the lower case, and a second direction transversely of said first direction, whereby said tongue is movable into and out of engagement with the said extension, a vertical portion at the free end of said angularly disposed portion of the hasp, and a spring contained in said upper case comprising a single piece of spring wire bent into a U-shape and disposed transversely in said upper case with one leg thereof anchored against the upper Wall of said case and the other leg being vertically movable and seated upon the angular portion of said hasp at the junction of said vertical portion therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 239,498 Hillebrand Mar. 29, 1881 1,122,211 Mann Dec. 22, 1914 1,829,310 Stone Oct. 27, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,173 Great Britain of 1893 

